1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to telephone interfaces and more particularly to telephone network multiple transmission line interface forming a demarcation point between telephone company and subscriber premise wiring.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the divestiture of the American Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandated the deployment of an instrument capable of serving as a demarcation point between the network wiring of the regional telephone company and that of the premise of the subscriber (customer). One intention of the demarcation point mandate is to provide a test point for the subscriber to troubleshoot each incoming line at the demarcation point and thus verify if a transmission problem is on the telephone network side or on the subscriber side of the demarcation point.
Heretofore, one type of conventional interface device accepts a standard 25 line telephone registration jack on the incoming network end, separate the incoming lines, and then routes them to individual single line telephone registration jacks. However, wiring between the facility network and subscriber premises equipment is not reliable and sometimes is malinstalled by the technician. Further conventional interface devices have not provided an integral means for connecting the premise wiring using a common method, e.g., by terminal screws, used both by telephone network personnel and subscribers. Further, conventional interface devices do not allow connection of more than one subscriber conductor pair to each interface device, nor have provisions been made for removable customer interface terminals.
Conventional interface devices have no provisions for mechanically interlocking a plurality of interface devices for ease of testing or to minimize installation space requirements in installations having a large customer premise equipment population, and no provisions are made to protect the terminals of the device from short-circuits.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide multiple transmission line interface terminal that overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art.
Another object is to provide a multiple transmission line interface terminal device wherein interconnections between facility and subscriber premises wiring are reliably provided, i.e., there are no wiring crossovers or other technician wiring errors.
Another object of the invention is to provide a telephone transmission line demarcation point between facility equipment and CPE utilizing removable subscriber wiring bridges that, upon failure, can be easily replaced in the field.
It is a more particular object of the present invention to enable utilization of screw terminals in a telephone transmission line interface for attachment of subscriber premise wiring, also known as customer provided equipment or (CPE), wherein a screw terminal is provided for each conductor of associated CPE tip and ring conductor pairs.
A further object of the invention is to enable connection of more than one pair of CPE tip and ring conductors on each subscriber wiring bridge of a telephone transmission line interface.
Another object of the invention is to provide a telephone transmission line interface terminal which enables mechanical interlocking of one terminal to another by interlockably stacking terminals end to end, enabling easy fault location and minimization of installation space requirements.
Yet another object is to provide, in a telephone network interface, a hinged removable reinforced front cover over the metallic terminals of the device to prevent possible short circuiting of one or more lines and protect the subscriber wiring bridges from dust and other foreign matter.
A further object of the invention is to provide selective interconnection of each subscriber wiring bridge with facility connections within a telephone network interface.
A still further object of the invention is to conveniently route CPE lines or cable of an integral cableway on the CPE side of an integral multiple transmission line interface terminal as well as to conveniently route facility lines or cable via a connector on the facility side of the terminal.